This invention relates to devices for cleaning out mud tanks of hydrovac units.
In hydrovac operations water is used to blast a hole or trench in soil and the fluidized soil thus created is sucked into a mud tank. The water in the mud tank is filtered and recirculated for use in blasting the hole, while mud accumulates in the mud tank. Periodically, the mud has to be removed from the mud tank. In the past, removal of the mud has been done with hoists, in which the tank is lifted and the mud dumped. This is not efficient, and the resulting vehicle is fairly complex.
The inventor has proposed a solution to the inefficient removal of mud from a mud tank. There is therefore provided in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, a mud tank cleaning system, comprising:
a mud tank having confining walls;
an opening in the confining walls of the mud tank;
a removable cover mounted on the mud tank over the opening;
a sweep mounted in the mud tank and being operable to sweep mud in the mud tank towards the opening in the confining walls; and
a sweep drive mechanism operably connected to the sweep for operating the sweep.
According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a hydrovac vehicle, comprising a frame mounted on wheels, a mud tank mounted on the frame, a water tank mounted on the frame, a water pump mounted on the frame and hydraulically connected to the water tank to pump water from the water tank for use in hydrovac operations, a blower mounted on the frame and connected by lines to the mud tank for removing fluids from the mud tank; and a boom line mounted on the mud tank for conveying fluidized materials to the mud tank.
Preferably, the mud tank is formed of a cylindrical wall and domed end walls, and the sweep is pivotally mounted from a wall forming a roof for the mud tank. Both the sweep drive and the removable cover for the opening are preferably hydraulically operated. Preferably, the sweep comprises a sweep arm terminating in a sweep blade, with the sweep blade mounted pivotally on the sweep arm to allow the sweep blade to swing free of mud in the mud tank when the sweep blade is moved away from the opening. The sweep blade is preferably smaller than the opening, and the sweep blade is mounted to sweep through the opening upon operation of the sweep drive mechanism.
According to other aspects of the invention, the mud tank and water tank share a common wall, and any one or more of the mud tank, water tank, blower and water pump are bolted directly to the frame. In a still further aspect of the invention, the boom line is mounted on the mud tank.
These and other aspects of the invention are described in the detailed description of the invention and claimed in the claims that follow.